The latest numbers make now a great time to be a buyer in our market.
The latest market numbers from September have been released—what do they indicate about our DMV marketplace? That’s a question on a lot of people’s minds right now because the numbers from the previous month reflected a slower market than what we’re used to.
Here are the key year-over-year September numbers you need to know from our area: • Prince William County: Closed sales dropped 24%, and the average sold price dropped 0.7% • Fairfax County: Closed sales dropped 19.8%, and the average sold price dropped 1.7% • Prince Georges County: Closed sales dropped 5.9%, but the average sold price rose 2.4% • Washington, DC: Closed sales dropped 24.8%, and the average sold price dropped 2.2% • Arlington County: Closed sales dropped 23.1%, but the average sold price rose 0.3% • Loudoun County: closed sales dropped 16.2%, and the average sold price dropped 0.9% • These stats are a good indication of the trends we’re seeing industry-wide. As you can see, conditions aren’t very robust at the moment, even though interest rates are extremely low. The • last time they were this low, people were itching to buy homes. This isn’t to say our market is heading for a crash—it’s just adjusting, which means your real estate plans must adjust as well.
If you’re a buyer, now’s the perfect time to make your move. Prices have pulled back and, as I mentioned above, interest rates are in the 3% range. These low rates impact you more than prices. If you can get cheap money, go and get it! If you’re a first-time homebuyer, the likelihood of your being able to afford closing costs is much higher. If you’re a move-up buyer who needs to sell your lower-priced home first, you won’t take as big of a loss selling your home as you think.
If you’re a seller, the best way to get full market value for your home is to price it appropriately right out of the gate. If you start chasing the market down, you don’t know where your bottom will show up. If you wait an extra month or two to get another $10,000, that sum may never appear.
“Conditions aren’t very robust at the moment, even though interest rates are extremely low”
Also, make sure you show your home correctly. Many buyers have come to me recently asking me to help fix up their home properly because they listed it beforehand with another agent but followed some bad advice in terms of how to show it. If you show your home correctly, you’ll sell quicker and for a higher price.
If you’d like to talk more about our DMV market or you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.
